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Those who want to live, let them fight, and those who do not want to fight in this
world of eternal struggle do not deserve to live.
-Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler, no matter of his wrong behavior and the obvious evil that he empowered,
was one of the outstanding leaders of all time and changed the manner that our society
looked at war. The fact that Hitler came from a front-line soldier with no real future in a
leadership role to the chancellor of Germany and the commander of a great army shows
his great will and ability to meet his goals and to manipulate people to achieve a vision.
The reason that I chose Hitler as the subject for this assignment was because of the great
impact that he had on our world over the last century and also to take a look at just how
he could convince not only his nation but other allies to carry out his ill-will towards
Russia and the Jews. Whether or not he is viewed as crazy is irrelevant here, his
leadership and manipulative skills allowed him to accomplish at least some of his subgoals and very nearly his overall goal of expanding Germany into Russia and
exterminating the Jews. When looking at a leadership style or a model to compare Hitler
to, there is one word that really stands out in most leadership models that all relate to
Hitler: directive. This assignment will look at two different models which I believe will
show what kind of leader Hitler was and also why I think that he was as successful as he
possibly could have been. These two models are Blake and Mouton's Leadership Grid
and the contingency model.
Versailles Treaty. Hitler became leader of the Nazi party and built up membership
quickly, largely because of his powerful speaking ability. Hitler organized an army for
the Nazi party called the Storm Troopers ("Brown Shirts") who were called upon to fight
groups seeking to disband the Nazi rallies.
On November 9, 1923, Hitler led more than 2,000 Storm Troopers on a march to take
over the Bavarian government. The attempt failed and Hitler was arrested and sentenced
to prison for five years for treason. While in prison, Hitler wrote Mein Kampf (My
Struggle). In this book, he stated his beliefs and plans for Germany's future. Hitler only
served nine months in prison and when he was released, he began to rebuild the party
again. He set up a private battle-ready elite guard known as the "Schutzstaffel" (SS). By
1929, the Nazis had become an important minor political party.
In 1930, a worldwide depression hit Germany, yet Germany also had the debt of paying
for the harm it had caused in World War I. Hitler protested against paying the debt and
said that the Jews and Communists were the cause of Germany's defeat in World War I.
He promised to free Germany of Jews and Communists and to reunite the German
speaking region of Europe.
In July, 1932, the Nazis picked up about 40% of the vote and became the strongest party
in Germany. On January 30 1933, President Paul von Hindenburg appointed Hitler
Chancellor of Germany. Once in this position, Hitler moved quickly toward attaining a
dictatorship. When von Hindenburg died in 1934, Hitler already had control of Germany
and he gave himself the title "Fuehrer" (leader).
Under Hitler's government, called the Third Reich, there was no place for freedom. The
government controlled every part of one's life. Hitler used extensive propaganda to
brainwash the nation into believing his theory about creating the perfect Aryan or Nordic
race. Therefore, it was Hitler's plan to rid the nation and eventually the world of Jews,
Gypsies, Negroes, handicapped, and mentally ill persons. This plan was called the "Final
Solution."
World War II began in 1939 when Hitler invaded Poland to begin his unification of all
German-speaking peoples. By this time extermination camps were being established
throughout Germany, Poland, and Russia.
Before Hitler was stopped in 1945 by the Allied countries, he had caused the
extermination over 12 million people. Hitler committed suicide in his bunker on April
30,1945 and seven days later, Germany surrendered.
The fall of Hitler and his army began in their hearts. Hitler's heart started to poison him.
He became proud of what he has and became too confident or a better word arrogant in
his battles. This confidence made him under-estimate his opponents. Hence, the weak and
the coward developed the perfect techniques to stab the giants (brave and strong) at their
backs and lead them to their fall.
Lesson 10: He could escape from his enemy, but not sin
The sinner become a stranger to divine love, and to the love of neighbor; his heart
turned cold. Thus a sinner the more he sins, becomes more insensitive to evil; his will is
finally weakened that all conscience is lost, and he falls into greater and greater sins more
and more easily. Finally, Hitler committed suicide in the Berlin bunker, but he couldnt
escape from the sin he did in the past.
Managerial Lessons to be learned from the greatest tyrant of the world The leader of
genius must have the ability to make different opponents appear as if they belonged to
one category. Adolf Hitler may seem an evil and a terrifying man, but he was a man
with a mission and vision. His passion, dependability, and confidence made Germany a
powerful nation. One of Hitler qualities that made him a well-known leader is his
dependability. By having someone depend upon you makes you feel powerful or even
generous. Confidence was a rare quality that led him rising to the power and popularity.
Adolf Hitler would do anything to rise to the power and popularity, even by lying to
bring his inner confidence in the power.
Discipline:
Since Childhood Hitler had Discipline and regimentation under the watchful eyes of
teachers at school and his strict father at home. There is anecdotal evidence that Adolf's
father regularly beat him during his childhood, it was not unusual for discipline to be
enforced in that way during that period.
Punctual and hard worker:
Hitler was one of the most punctual people Germany ever produced. He never used to be
late or absent for any meeting. Also, before any public presence Hitler used to practice
his speech many times with his photographer to get the best motivating snaps.
Vision:
Hitler knew that the next level of war weapon will be of chemicals. He supported
chemical warfare. Some reports say Hitler was first to have a nuclear weapon also.
Determination:
He wanted to be the most powerful person in Germany and also wanted to make
Germany as the most powerful country in the world. In spite of being in prison for almost
one year Hitler did not have his determination fade. After being released Hitler continued
his movement indirectly, as he was prohibited to make any public summit. But after
getting public support Hitler became chancellor of Germany and later the undisputed
leader.
Strategic Planning:
Hitler followed through with his plan and repudiated the Treaty of Versailles. At first he
tried to keep Germany's rearmament a secret but by 1935 he proudly displayed
Germany's new army, navy and air force. European nations did nothing to enforce the
treaty, leading Hitler to conclude that he could begin to create his vision of a new
German nation. In1936 he reclaimed the Rhineland from France and in 1938 he annexed
Austria to Germany. France and Great Britain agreed at a meeting in Munich to the
annexation on the understanding that Hitler would make no more territorial demands. The
Munich agreement only made Hitler more convinced that he could continue his
expansion. Within months German troops had marched into German-populated areas of
Czechoslovakia and in 1939 Hitler annexed all of that country. Britain and France finally
reacted when Hitler's armies invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. War was declared,
leading to the Second World War that would last until 1945.
Organizing:
Hitler was discharged from the army in March 1920 and with his former superiors'
continued encouragement began participating full time in the party's activities. By early
1921, Hitler was becoming highly effective at speaking in front of large crowds. In
February, Hitler spoke before a crowd of nearly six thousand in Munich. To publicize the
meeting, he sent out two truckloads of party supporters to drive around with swastikas,
cause a commotion and throw out leaflets, their first use of this tactic. Hitler gained
notoriety outside of the party for his rowdy, polemic speeches against the Treaty of
Versailles, rival politicians (including monarchists, nationalists and other noninternationalist socialists) and especially against Marxists and Jews.
The DAP was centered in Munich, a hotbed of German nationalists who included Army
officers determined to crush Marxism and undermine the Weimar republic. Gradually
they noticed Adolf Hitler and his growing movement as a vehicle to hitch themselves to.
Hitler traveled to Berlin to visit nationalist groups during the summer of 1921, and in his
absence there was a revolt among the DAP leadership in Munich
People Management:
Hitler was very famous among his people. He used to be in them and treated them as a
family. He played with their children and enjoyed with them. This lead to his popularity,
his people were ready to die for him
Problem Solver:
He had an amazing power of concentration. His judgments are quick and decisive. He
acts more like a big brother to his staff than as a Fuehrer and manages to endear himself
to Hitler was able to penetrate complex problems and reduce them to a few simple,
fundamental factors.
He prides himself on this talent and has said to various people:
I have the gift of reducing all problems to their simplest foundations ...A gift for tracing
back all theories to their roots in reality. each and every one of them.
But, underneath, he is every inch the Fuehrer. He displays extraordinary courage and
determination. He shows a great deal of initiative and is willing to assume full
responsibility for the wisdom of the course he has mapped out.
Overconfident:
Hitler was no doubt a man of caliber with excellent cleverness and management skills;
still he lost due to his overconfidence. He attacked both England and Russia together
without realizing environment condition of Russia which caused its lost to Russia and
England both.
ANALYSIS OF BEHAVIOR
When looking at Hitler's behaviour with the goal of analyzing his leadership style and
leadership success, it is important to keep in mind that the focus of the paper is to look at
how well and in what manner he led. To say that he was a poor leader based on his
actions or his extremely unethical goals would be a disservice to the analysis. This
section of the assignment will be broken down into two sections that will separate the
style approach and the contingency theory approach to analyze Hitler's leadership style.
consequences. Hitler also did not like or trust his soldiers or his generals. Fitting the
leadership grid, the only time that he ever really spoke to these people was to give them
orders to follow.
One other thing to look at in the style approach was Hitler's ability to manipulate people
into thinking that he was their friend in order to achieve his goals. Hitler's primary goal
was to expand Germany and to take over a part of Eastern Russia. In light of this goal,
Hitler made sub-goals that involved eliminating certain armies that would hinder in his
goals. Knowing that Germany had just been defeated in WWI, Hitler used that as an
excuse to build up his army and through manipulative discussion and empty promises of
peace, Hitler soon had a naval fleet outside of Britain and troops mobilizing to prepare
for battle. Hitler was shown some opposition to rebuilding the army by such countries as
France, but when opposition came from any country, he flattered the leaders and told
stories about how much the war had scarred his country and how he wanted peace.
Although Hitler seems to have had great communication skills, again, the only reason
that he drove himself to talk to these people was because they were almost taking orders
from Hitler to let him do as he pleased. This was done only to attain another step in
accomplishing his goals and his lies showed total disregard for the countries that he spoke
with because he ended up attacking them. All that Hitler cared about was his tasks. To
say that Hitler was seen as controlling and overpowering is an understatement and this is
an extreme case where I would say that this leader is an actual "one" where
communicating with people interpersonally is concerned. To me, this shows the
sociopath that was Adolf Hitler because he really did not care about anyone but himself.
This look at the style approach only really shows Hitler as a leader who simply used his
positional power to push everyone around, possibly giving the impression that he wasn't
much of a leader as much as he was a bully. When you only look at the style approach,
which most people subconsciously do when they think about Hitler, you do not see how
he led his way into this positional power. The contingency model will look more at how
he turned his poor situation into one of great power through smart and opportunistic
leadership.
CONTINGENCY MODEL
The contingency model will help look at Hitler's situation, the goals that he made, and his
power over people. After looking at these items, Hitler's approach will predict whether or
not he chose the correct style of leadership.
The first step in the contingency model is one that looks at the relationship between the
leader and the subordinates. According to the text, a good leader-member relationship is
one where the members have confidence in the leader, are loyal to the leader, and the
attraction that they have for the leader. Hitler came into politics at a time where the
people of Germany were devastated from WWI and the country was lost, with no sign of
nationalism and no hope. Hitler, once again with his manipulative speeches that were
geared toward his goals, gave people hope and through telling people who to hate and
why to hate them, created a following of a massive army and gave the hopeless Germans
something to believe in. The soldiers felt as if they were a part of something and Hitler
used this to gain their absolute loyalty and gained their confidence. For the people he was
leading, although he did not care about them personally, Hitler was respected and
admired by his followers.
The next item to look at in the contingency theory is the task structure. As was previously
stated, Hitler had his hand in anything that was of interest to him in military operations.
He was so precise in how he wanted things done that if they were not done exactly as
ordered, his own people were punished, sometimes severely. In reference to task, the text
says that "A task is considered structured when (a) the requirements of the task are
clearly stated and known by the individuals required to perform them, (b) the path to
accomplish the path has few alternatives, (c) the completion of the task can be clearly
demonstrated, (d) only a limited number of correct solutions to the task exist. Although
there may have been a couple of different solutions to the tasks that Hitler ordered, it was
very clearly stated that the "only correct way" to accomplish the task was to complete the
task in the manner that Hitler wanted it to be completed. As was said, each order was
extremely precise and organized, leaving the subordinate little room for error or chance to
sway from the goal path. This exemplifies that high structure of each task that was
delegated by Hitler.
Lastly, the contingency model looks at the position power that the leader holds. Hitler
started his military career as a front-line soldier in WWI and through his great persuasive
abilities worked his way to being the chancellor of Germany. Once there, Hitler started to
fire people and take over positions in order to increase his position power over
everybody. People were terrified to fail him let alone oppose him, so his positional power
over his subordinates was quite extreme. Hitler gave himself the power to do whatever he
wanted to do to people whenever he wanted to do it.
After looking at the previous three items, the information is in place to determine the best
style of leadership given the conditions surrounding the leader and his subordinates.
Hitler's situation comes out as a "1" on the preferred leadership style scale, showing good
leader-member relations, high task structure, and strong positional power. Keeping in
mind that Hitler should be viewed as a low LPC, the contingency model says that people
who are in Hitler's situation would be most successful as a low or middle LPC. Based on
this model, Hitler should theoretically be successful in his directive approach.
In my opinion, Adolf Hitler's style of leadership during the late 1930's and early to mid1940's was the most efficient way to get the things done that he wanted to have done.
During a time of war, there is little time to sit there and support people or take time to
help someone out with something, you could get shot or lose important position while
this is happening. I think that the most important part of Hitler's drive to win WWII was
the fact that he very clearly, from the beginning told his prospective followers of his
vision and how he planned on making this vision become a reality. This vision gave the
subordinates motivation in a very dark time in Germany and by using the expectancy
theory, he gave his troops the drive needed to attempt to carry out their goal. Of course
Hitler's actions were absolutely evil, but he did use the situation to his advantage and to
try to accomplish his goals, as terrible as some of them were. I think that driving his
troops through nationalism was a great situational approach because the country was once
so proud and at that time had nothing to be proud about.
One thing that I would say about Hitler's leadership was that his lack of caring for his
people was quite unnecessary near the end of the war and that although it wasn't really a
priority for him, he should have surrendered and killed himself to save some of the
people who had worked so hard for a lost cause. When figuring that the goal could not be
reached, it might have been a more humane idea to take a higher stance on the concern
for people on Blake and Mouton's Leadership Grid. Of course, this does not deter my
belief that Hitler was an effective leader to that point, I just think that a great leader
should have the ability to adapt to situations and to mould his leadership style
accordingly, and this did not happen in Hitler's case. This was probably due to the fact
that Hitler was as psychotic as he was smart, but this fault should be looked at
nonetheless.
EFFECTIVENESS
Adolf Hitler, regardless of his wrong doings and the obvious evil that he empowered, was
one of the great leaders of our time and changed the way that our society looked at war.
The fact that Hitler came from a front-line soldier with no real future in a leadership role
to the chancellor of Germany and the commander of a great army shows his great will
and ability to meet his goals and to manipulate people to achieve a vision. The reason that
I chose Hitler as the subject for this paper was because of the great impact that he had on
our world over the last century and also to take a look at just how he could convince not
only his nation but other allies to carry out his ill-will towards Russia and the Jews.
Whether or not he is viewed as crazy is irrelevant here, his leadership and manipulative
skills allowed him to achieve at least some of his sub-goals and very nearly his overall
goal of expanding Germany into Russia and exterminating the Jews. When looking at a
leadership style or a model to compare Hitler, there is one word that really stands
In Hitler's case, leader-member relations are good, there is a high task structure and high
position power.
One other thing to look at Hitlers effectiveness is his ability to manipulate people into
thinking that he was their friend (or at least not a threat) in order to achieve his goals.
Hitler's primary goal was to expand Germany and to take over a part of Eastern Russia. In
light of this goal, Hitler made sub-goals that involved eliminating certain armies that
would hinder in his goals.
MISTAKES
The first was in not having sound moral judgment and allowing personal interests to
dictate his governments actions, thereby misusing his supporters trust and, eventually
destroying the lives of many of them.
The second was in not trusting his subordinates judgment in their own sections of
expertise. This happened in many cases and an example would be during the war in north
Africa where he did not allow his soldiers to retreat from the continent until it was far too
late, for the reason of nothing more than his idea of national pride.
This lead to the destruction by death or capture of nearly his entire army in Africa.
Another example was the case of Stalingrad where he did not let his generals to order a
general withdrawal of the troops allowed an entire army to be surrounded and cut off
insisting till far to late that the beleaguered air force could supply the surrounded troops.
These were examples not only of letting his emotions guide him but also of
micromanagement in cases where he did not know the entire situation.
A third was in being overtly authoritarian, and not allowing any contrary views to be
aired. It helped initially in implementing his policies but eventually it became dangerous
to even talk about ideas contrary to the official party line. It consequently discouraged
free thinking and honesty especially amongst his chief subordinates. This meant that the
men who rose to power did so not based on ability or merit but on telling him things he
wanted to hear.
SUMMARY
Adolf Hitler may seem as an evil and a terrifying man but a man that well-known
wouldn't be in history without his passion, dependability, and confidence to make
Germany a powerful nation. To get Germany to become a powerful nation did take both
negative and positive thoughts upon his actions. In my opinion, Hitler was man who
fought till last man with the help of his military, economy and nothing other than his
qualities. As being a man with qualities no other than dependability, passion, and
confidence Hitler would not have led himself to victory, popularity, success and rise to
the power. & quot; Dunkirk has fallen... with it has ended the greatest of world history.
Soldiers! My confidence in you knew no bounds. It was all for his mission and vision to
become an excellent leader but do you think all of these devastations were required &
quot;
By putting himself into a position of great power and fear, Hitler understood the situation
that he was in and acted accordingly. If you think about this situation in a business sense,
think about a boss who has made an example of firing a few people who would not
perform as ordered to, and how the next person is going to feel when ordered to do
something. Hitler struck fear into his army but at the same time maintained loyalty and
motivation for the soldiers to arrive at Hitler's vision. For the boss of the business, if
production was his only concern, it is very unlikely that employees would work harder
for any reason other than to not be fired. The boss' goal or vision would not likely be a
priority to the employee as it was to the Germans. In the case of the boss, however, I am
not saying that the boss would not be successful as a leader, I am only trying to show
Hitler's success in leadership because of his consciousness to the situation and his ability
to exploit it most efficiently.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion to all the information I have gathered, Adolf Hitler, although a sick and
twisted man was a brilliant, charismatic leader. His speeches drew crowds of people in
and earned their popularity, but used the power he gained for evil. He will go down in
history as a demonic man, who used power for his own good.
Overall, Hitler's situational analysis and leadership style based on the analysis and the
situations that he created for himself make Hitler a great leader and a great man in the
respect that he turned nothing into something huge. It is unfortunate that he used his
abilities for evil rather than good, but his accomplishments as a leader must be regarded
as great. This style of leadership would not be likely to succeed in a growing, innovative
corporation today, but in the setting that Germany and Adolf Hitler found themselves in
during the 1930's, the style proved to be very successful when referring to the definition
of leadership that we have been concerned with this term.
Bibliography
www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/GERhitler.htm
www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/GERhitler.htm
www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/
www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/30691.Adolf_Hitler
www.amazon.com/Hitlers-Second-Book...Sequel/.../1929631618
Leadership in organizations- Gary Yukl
On Becoming A Leader by Warren G. Bennis
Leadership from the Inside Out: Becoming a Leader for Life by Kevin Cashman